Return to Winter

After spending the last 6 days in sunny Florida (Miami and Naples) it seems a bit cool back here in Worcester....even with 50 degree temps today!!

I was lucky enough to spend this time my my wife and son in Florida, even though part of the trip was admissions related. Last Sunday I was in Miami at the National College Fair. Even though I was far from home the fair was quite busy for WPI and I spoke to over 50 prospective students and their families. One might call this fair college recruitment of the future. I had the opportunity to rent a bar scanner before the fair, and being a technological university I of course thought it was an intriguing idea. So one might wonder what would I do with a bar scanner at a college fair? Scan students of course!! Students were encouraged to register their information on-line before the fair, or to do so upon arrival...instead of filling out inquiry cards for all the colleges to receive information from all the colleges, each student had a bar code that I would scan when they came up to the table.

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first and reached out to see what other experienced scanners at other schools thought...I heard good things and now I am a convert!! Instead of lots of wasted time for both students and admissions representatives, a quick scan allowed for much more conversation and allowed students to have the opportunity to check out more colleges and universities.

I know that NACAC is not providing this option at all locations yet, but hopefully in the near future this will be standard practice!!

So what else did I do in Florida? In addition to attending the college fair I also had an opportunity to connect with some of our applicants in the Miami area before heading to the Gulf Coast to spend some time with family. Had a chance to take in a Red Sox spring training game, spend some time on the swings with my son (his new favorite activity!!) and spend a little time by the pool. Before I knew it I was on the plane answering e-mails and breaking out the sweatshirt and jacket for my ride home.

Admissions Committee begins in a week!!

Ed

Winter Preview

Yesterday we welcomed approximately 400 of our recently admitted students to campus for our Winter Preview event...It was great to see this group of excited students on campus getting to know each other, mingling with our current students and of course checking out the food! We had students on campus from across New England and from across the country.

If you've been admitted, but weren't able to make it yesterday, we are already starting to plan our Closer Look programs for admitted students in April. Consider joining us on April 15th or April 22nd.

We'll be getting some pictures of the event up soon!!

Did you take some pics of your own? Consider posting them on Facebook....WPI Class of 2013

Ed

New Admissions Viewbook

Every three years comes a complete redesign of the admissions viewbook and several of the brochures we send out to our prospective students....well it's 2009 and it''s time to start the process again. The admissions staff will be working closely with our friends in marketing and communications at WPI for the next several months as we pull this project together. We will also be working with an outside design firm, FORGE Worldwide, on this exciting project.

So what do YOU want to see in the new viewbook? What sort of a cover gets you to open the publications that come in the mail? Do you want to see more information on student life or on academics inside? Post your thoughts and comments or send me an e-mail. (econnor@wpi.edu) Have you visited WPI and taken some great pictures? Let me know...maybe we'll use one!!

If you are an admitted student coming to this weekend's Winter Preview event come by a bit early....8:30ish and you can join a focus group to give your input on some early design concepts we are considering....maybe you'll even get a free WPI hat for helping out.

Stay tuned...I'll be posting some cover concepts to check out shortly.

Look forward to your ideas!!

Ed

PS - If you were recently admitted don't forget to check out the admitted student site - http://admissions.wpi.edu/Congrats/

Committee Wrap-up

After several days of committee meetings and some late nights reviewing applications I spent last night doing some non-admissions related things...taking the on-line Jeopardy test (they certainly won't be calling me!!), watching Scrubs (I've always liked that show but hardly ever see it), and reading a bit of a new book I got for Christmas (Three Cups of Tea).

No more slacking tonight...time to sign the decision letters. About 80% of our Early Action Round II decisions will mail on Friday. What about the other 20% you say? Unfortunately the applications are too incomplete to review. If you want to check on your app status please use the log-in and PIN info in your acknowledgement letter to view your application status on-line.

Enjoy the snow!!

Ed

WPI Architectural Highlights

If you are considering enrolling at WPI, or just checking things out on my blog, you may want to check out some fantastic photos of the WPI campus

http://www.wpiphotos.net/

I received permission to share these, although the photographer wishes to remain anonymous.

There are over 50 photos of campus. Enjoy!

Ed

Interactive Media and Game Development at WPI

Thinking of majoring in Interactive Media and Game Development(IMGD)? Maybe your parents aren't convinced you can make a living off designing games?

Check out the IMGD seminar series at WPI. It's one of the most active speaker series at WPI welcoming guests on a weekly basis to WPI....and it's open to the public.

The spring series is just getting finalized:
http://www.imgd.wpi.edu/speakers/index_2009s.html

Ed

Potpourri

Wow it has been quite a while since I sat down to post...so much has happened, the least of which is a new year!! As I read applications I feel older and older as I see birth dates of 1991 and 1992; soon our entire incoming class will have been born after I graduated from WPI!!

Virtually all of our early action applications have been reviewed and decision letters mailed...if you still haven't heard that means we are missing something...maybe a transcript or SAT scores for example. Give us a call and we'll let you know what's happening. We are anxious to wrap up those lingering applications as well.

We already have over 50 students that have submitted their enrollment forms and deposits for next year....this is great to see. That represents a little over 5% of the incoming Class of 2013. This includes students from Texas, Colorado, Maryland, Turkey, Honduras, and of course Massachusetts. If you are one of our admitted students still considering their options, don't worry you are not alone. If you spend time on Facebook you can connect with admitted students in the WPI Class of 2013 group...check it out!

I'd also encourage all of our admitted students to check out the Admitted Student site....http://admissions.wpi.edu/Congrats/ It is brand new and has been seeing lots of traffic. It was just the featured site on a popular higher-ed marketing site: http://www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/linkoftheweek.html which is always nice to see:)

For those students still working on their application, or with it on their to do list, don't forget our February 1st deadline is just around the corner.

Enjoy the cold weather!!

Ed